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welcome to Sputnik orbiting the world
with me George Galloway and me Jeffrey
Morocco was the first Arab country I
ever visited and whispered softly it's
still my favorite it is no secret
however that in Morocco all is not what
it seems
the King isn't as securely in his castle
as was his father for so many decades
not as popular either progress towards a
constitutional monarchy like in Spain
Britain or the Netherlands has been
pitifully slow and unsteady Morocco has
a big population an industrial
proletariat a working class it has
closed our proximity to Europe than most
Arab countries and strong political
movements and parties including Islamist
ones it also has something else I have
referred to Morocco as an Arab country
throughout this introduction but many
Moroccans are not Arabs but Berbers and
this rift
is an ever widening one joining us to
discuss the growing uncertainty in
Morocco is Murad el Ghazi here at
solidarity campaign coordinator in the
UK let's clear this up first it's Eric
hir a key what does that actually mean
haddock means in Arabic movements and
it's the shortcut for popular movements
Eric shabby that defines the name that
people have chosen for themselves to
define the grassroots movement that has
started in the northeast of Morocco
inish region and and what are its
demands demands started very clearly
first around the best of the fishmonger
most sinfully who was killed in October
2016 with sort of silence from the
authority on the conditions of his death
his good foresees the fish that he was
selling by the authorities and in the
rift and him trying to get the fish back
he was crushed in the garbage truck and
the people around the scene or the way
people remember the scene
that one of the people responsible of
the operation the policeman said grind
his mother in a sort of insulting way
and therefore started this big movement
around the best of the fishmonger trying
to demand for accountability what
happened to him and it grew slowly to be
about social political and economic
developer a hospital an oncology
department asking for university and for
just more accountability and less
corruption in the area to be an Iraqi
now this has a remarkable similarity to
the trigger of the Tunisian revolution
which ultimately overthrew the
dictatorship there it was another small
businessperson stallholder and from that
small acorn grew a very big movement how
big is this movement the movement is
very wide its grassroots as I said which
means that it gathers people from all
the small towns and the big towns around
northeast of Morocco but also it has
created a big solidarity movement across
Morocco in every single city robot
Casablanca an apparel Marrakesh fest
there are coordination in solidarity
going out in protest in coordination
with the reefs so I would say it's a
wide movement so what are its
characteristics
is it a class-based thing or are there
as I refer to in my introduction
national characteristics in this is this
a Berber Arab thing as well as whatever
else it is can I say first I prefer to
use the word amethyst instead of Berber
to speak about the specific ethnicity
Berber has been the word that was used
by colonization to describe by the
Romans yes Ruben you know what and get
all those in colonize I started from a
very long time orange al ism so if it's
a class is it an ethnicity thing I would
say it's against oppression and
oppression has been described
very particular traits in the northeast
of Morocco it has a history of the
region has been segregated and oppressed
for a very long time when there were
protests in the since the post
colonization actually they have been
heavily oppressed by the regime and the
regime has decided sort of blackouts on
the region and give some sanctions by
teaching a lesson people were called Oh
- which means vandals or savages and
this word can still be heard actually
when the propaganda against the
movements tries to discredit them they
are calling them abash did it work and
so far though I think it always works
when you try to other the professor's is
showing that there is a group in
solidarity or there is a sort of unity
and someone is trying to break it and
it's a narrative we hear everywhere
we've heard throughout the North African
uprisings but also in the Middle East
it's also being a word that I don't
really like that much so when we see a
Tunisia when we see Egypt even in Syria
what is still happening we try to call
the people who are calling for more
rights a separatist we call them as
troublemakers so we will show footages
you should see that the police will be
at the protest filming on the other side
throwing rocks at the protesters so that
when they reciprocate the police have
footage of them throwing rocks there for
being well we're not strangers to that
here in this country of course and
here's the point that I think we have a
disagreement about everybody in Morocco
is oppressed because Morocco is a is a
dictatorship all Arab countries are
dictatorships of one kind or another so
everyone is oppressed therefore the only
way you can get rid of the oppression is
by uniting all the people who are
oppressed and that's why I asked you if
this was ethnic specific and of course
they will call you separatists but
sometimes people are separatists
is this movement separatist it stops and
again I am here as a solidarity campaign
coordinator and that title is very clear
because it means I am NOT there and I
cannot you know become the behalf of the
movement what I can say is how we reach
out through the public now to say what
the methods is across from the country
it's not a separatist movement it's
actually a very conciliatory movement
you know it's not asking for anything
there people have asked in Tunisia or in
Egypt it's grounded very much in
actually the Constitution and this is
where I invite the regime in Morocco to
listen to the demands because there is
nothing that the protesters are asking
for that is not already in the
constitution and the constitutional
reform law was actually a royal
initiative so in some way bear in mind
this history it would be just completely
logical to follow up by listening to the
people's demands I know about the
developments in Morocco by reading the
Dutch papers because there's a lot of
gira moroccan diaspora actually they're
being called up to actually partake in
the protests you know many moroccan to
go back to their homelands and they
specifically asked to join the protests
how has that affected a lot of us / of
course throughout Europe how has it
affected the whole movement we are very
inspired by what's happening in the
Netherlands it's one of the biggest
groups you know of people from the
Northeast of Morocco who have migrated
in Europe there are big groups also in
Belgium in France in the UK who are
quite a small group of people but still
we've managed to have a little action in
front of the consulate where we gathered
as a as a group and the discussion that
I wanted to start with that is how as a
diaspora have as people who can actually
identify with what's happening but do
not live there how can we help the
situation some people as you said have
gone back to protests or are involved
others are organizing protests abroad
for us here in the UK we want to
concentrate on the release of the
political prisoners
and on an active campaign to get
solidarity from the grassroots movements
here because in some way we're not
really interested in a feeling to the
institutions of the UK or Europe because
it would be in some way betraying the
spirit of a grassroots oh yeah and I
would think it's just that Morocco is
different from most Arab countries in
that it actually does have a civil
society has trade unions it has
political parties it has the Communist
Party as a has a daily newspaper there
is a communist party there are trade
unions and so on the these things don't
exist in almost all Arab countries it
seems to me that the most important
thing I may give your movement some
advice is to link up with all the others
who are being oppressed and who are
showing some signs of becoming well more
than impatient at the progress that's
being made in Morocco actually it's
happening already the coordination that
I was referring to before are in direct
link with Morocco in the last protest
that we call the million march that
people tried to go to get on her femur
it was astonishing how many people left
their cities to go and the regime was
trying to stop actually there everybody
gasps who forget to the city where the
protest was happening and you would see
that there were some incredible
initiative for people to both actually
to sail around and to get to the city or
that they crossed through mountains to
get there so we are here in their call
and people from even Europe Moroccans in
Europe are here in the color and going
back so that there is some intelligence
there and being very locally grounded by
appealing to everyone and I think in
some way this is what we have to learn
and from the Heritage that Herrick has
its regional specificities they speak a
message sometimes time exists when
they're speaking to each other they're
not trying to make it understandable to
us by speaking Indonesia but if they
were to speak to someone that doesn't
speak Tamil yes they would speak
Indonesia so I think it's also for us
to not impose on them to appeal or to
try to make a common strategy with other
movements it's the other movements that
I have to listen and say that we
actually have common grounds and how can
we join them because so far what we're
seeing the political prisoners and the
people who get beaten our families how
many political prisoners are 176
prisoners this is the updates we have
two important cases that we're really
really trying to call for solidarity and
for their immediate release we have one
person who has been on there on a hunger
strike this is the 32nd day and he is
actually right now at hospital his name
is rabia expell and his family is very
worried for him he has lost 21 kilos and
currently he as he is at the hospital
prison in okasha
in Casablanca the second one is serious
viene everyone knows her more she's the
finger the voice of the revolution in
the leaf and she is also being treated
very badly feeling depressed and we are
calling for their release this is not to
forget all of the other people we want
their release and we actually want to
call for how their treatment is very
very politically planned because they
have been taken the 50 actually people
that are part of the leadership have
been taken to jail in Casablanca in al
kasha prison which means taking them
away from their supports in the wrist
region so what we're saying is we
believe we want to believe in the
promises of reform we want to believe in
the desire to have a constitutional
monarchy as you started your
introduction with we just need proof of
that we need to see proof and first
proof is well the rightful process is a
constitutional right it's protected by
the Constitution for the political
prisoners indeed a good slogan any day
thank you very much indeed thank you for
joining us on the spoiler thank you
football agent Barry cell phone is up
next free of charge
don't miss it
welcome back to Sputnik nowadays
footballers have loads of money top
players can earn hundreds of thousands
of pounds per week and even the ordinary
are on thousands but it was not ever
does absolutely shocked my own wife
today when I told her that when I
started watching football players had a
salary cap of 20 pounds a week and they
were in fact bonded libras their clubs
actually owned them all that has changed
something too much so and the credit or
the blame depending on your point of
view lies with the new breed of football
agents very salesmen was a top reporter
himself playing for a plethora of crops
from the now wealthiest Arab on
Manchester City to the Israeli League
where he played for Maccabi Tel Aviv his
beard agent for more than 20 years and a
very good and successful one - and at no
cost at all he's been good enough to
share some of the secrets with us on
board the spudnick body welcome man oh
yeah I hate to tell you but where did
you get the no cost okay the invoice
billion Italy okay no I need an agent to
discuss with you how much cocaine you're
a star player you let me tell you it
dismayed me how shocked she was this
morning when I told her that in when I
started watching football it was 20 quid
a week and it's true that was a legal
maximum tell us about that that's true
it was 20 pound a week right up until
the 60s when Jimmy Hill broke that and
he managed to literally break the
no-holds-barred it was you can own
whatever you wanted but clubs are still
frightened to go up and I think they
went up gradually to about 40 pound a
week until Johnny Haynes broke it which
it then became hundred pound aware and I
have just as I was a fab which is
unbelievable waking up I got cilia sorry
else that you might not know and this is
very interesting we used to have to
wages they had in the season was one
wage and in the summer the salary would
drop down so you get maybe a hundred
pound a week in the season but you get
thirty pound a week in the summer
because there was no money coming into
the club's the point I made in the
introduction none of these players were
free agents even at the end of their
contract you think you're stuck there
you couldn't see I'm off I'm gonna look
at terms but you don't come on that make
sense of a club this makes that makes a
fan the fan base base it makes it make
sense of the fan base because then they
would realize yes it was actually
illegal when you look back on it let's
just take just say George George has a
contract with split look for three years
at the end of the three years if you get
offered a job at the BBC ITV wherever
and you want to leave you can leave now
that was like that name Pete I mean I
had friends I had Janet's report issues
to have two three-year contracts with TV
at the end of the contract you walk for
all the only job where scene things
happened and I found it very strange or
one of them still happens today we're in
a vent you have a short-term contract we
know the big players get fortunes
children I mean like you say hundreds of
thousands of pounds a week but you get a
lot of players don't get that especially
when you drop down into the second and
first envision they get 800 pound a week
700 pound a week now when the contract
comes to an end
why shouldn't I be allowed to walk
because in all other walks of life now
go ahead it's a short-term contract you
can walk but another big thing it cats
football was even known short term
contracts on piy with in all other walks
of life when you have a what is
relatively short term contract you're on
Schedule D now football is a fallback
for years but I've never beaten Inland
Revenue with it so in effect footballers
were slaves I couldn't walk away from a
club where they were shackled and many
at the club didn't want to sell you
there they're just get you loaded onto
they keep your the same salary there
until eventually you either when I give
in my
outside the New Deal or somebody come
along and paid the money for you and
that is one of the reasons there wasn't
so much moving George if you remember
when you were young you know tires won't
go you have a new year some of a-team
years a while the reasons were you
couldn't go away
so Bosman the Bosman ruling which in the
European Union made it clear that this
was a restriction on trade and so on
this bust that wide open and then you
chaps the agents that came along and
suddenly a boss couldn't sit on a big
chair and have the player on a little
chair he didn't deal with the player at
all you had to deal with you and your as
we've already seen in this you've
negotiated a price even for this
interview you're a much harder man to
deal with on my behalf then I would be
myself and of course a lot of people
hate that the managers hate it and some
of the some of the fans hated how do you
deal with that the managers now to be
fair managers got used to it what
managers say to the Chairman is utter
for the player just get the deal done
they don't care anymore because because
again from when we were younger
managers were there for god boxing and
many heroes user managers now even when
they're on four or five year deals in
effect it's really only a year rollover
because most managers having their
contract that if they sack them only get
a year's money so in effect a lot of
them owner on the year rolled over now
they don't care anymore up till about
ten years ago they did but now it's just
the case of I want the player just get
me the player and you do have a problem
with fans because fans obviously from
their point of view they want their best
players to stay and if a club comes in
to buy them or you can't get a new deal
dumped they blame the agents but as an
agent like all agents when you're an
agent of an actor a singer a comedian
you take instruction from your place
or either you sit down with your player
and you will say what do you want to do
here and as an agent you're not doing
the right job if you don't know whether
there's other clubs that want him and
how much those clubs are willing to pay
so you sit down with the plan the first
thing you say is do you want to stay
is that your objective if a player says
yes so what would you be happy with and
all players talk to each other some go
on a little bit of an imaginary
situation where they may make out more
than they do but within reason players
know what each other is getting so a
player will look at he's important in
the club then he will say to you I'll be
happy if I get this but if they don't
want to give me that this players
earning that that players only that it
means they don't really want me but what
it does George it takes to pressure away
from the players it's become something
taints now that players just want to
concentrate on playing they because also
what you've got to remember is if I fly
a car agree a deal with the chairman and
it's the player doing and he gets left
out of the team in his head he's not
sure what he's getting left out the
thing because he can't agree a deal and
the chairman said to the manager don't
pick him or whether the managers
actually thinking but he's not playing
that well I want to change the system or
whatever so it takes all the pressure
away and what you do then you go in and
you know the ballpark figures if you're
going to get near there you'll find a
way to get near there if you're on a
different wavelength to what the
Chairman is you immediately know this is
going to be a problem so what you try to
do is get out of that meeting with a
friendship a relationship if you like a
business relationship still intact
and when you do a deal the idea of the
deal is that the player the owner of the
club the Chairman and you can all live
with a deal now somewhere along the line
some ones are really not going to get
exactly what they want it might be the
player
might be the club gotta give it a bit
more might be the agent doesn't get what
he thinks he should get but most agents
now are they if you're the agent of a
player you can only get 10% which by the
way 10% less or what a showbiz agent get
every showbiz agent and I'm I'm in
showbiz as live and had a music business
and you get 20% and everybody's agent
takes 20% everyone's but not for
Brighton you're actually not allowed to
have as a registered agent of the player
more than 10% well and out of that the
player has to pay tax on 5% of that so
that how it works
now you do see figures bandied about
certain agent just received 14 million
for a player going to Manchester United
but he was a completely different
situation that I won't go into on here
but you are in a way you're tired what
you earn and I've never done a deal for
a player ever since I've done this you
got remember George I was a player for
18 19 years I know so I know where
players are coming from I've never done
a deal for a player or I haven't taken
the players instructions and sometimes
as an agent you get a render stick and
now you're a lightning you get a render
what you can't and can't exactly go on
Facebook or on Twitter and say by the
way there was a line on me it was my
client telling me because you don't want
the support I'm gonna learn I'm not the
supporters to still love love him win
lose or draw you want them to love a
look better you're a fine player and
you're a very good agent and you've just
got two new clients
yes I got absolute interview very short
man you're a gentleman and a sky future
and we're joining us on the Sputnik
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and now it's your turn to tell us what
you think through the portals of social
media what's rattling gayatri a lot a
lot in Morocco live from exile says yes
the Moroccans are fed up with the
atrocities of the government they are
protesting against poverty and
oppression and for equality and freedom
and in the world of football John
McCormick is actually directing this
question to Barry
he says when do you anticipate the end
of the so-called Premier League
thanks to your and the players sheer
Everest and rapacity no it's not fear
does there's plenty of money in premier
ship football why shouldn't the players
get their share of it and with a man
like Bari I think they're gonna is it is
it I could just see him dealing with
these chief executives and chairman I'm
not joking I'm gonna have him as my
agent I know you're not in this all the
time we've got for a treat which allows
means that's the end of the show but
please stay in touch with us on Facebook
Sputnik on Russia today or on Twitter
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Artie underscore Sputnik goodbye for me
Gayathri and for me George Galloway HP
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